Silsbee eager to see progress against Hargrave

Published 1:00 am, Friday, October 2, 2015

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Silsbee's Dontre Thomas, 5, runs the ball during the game between the Silsbee Tigers and the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears at Bear Stadium in Little Cypress Friday night, September 25th, 2015 - photo provided by Kyle Ezell less

Silsbee's Dontre Thomas, 5, runs the ball during the game between the Silsbee Tigers and the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears at Bear Stadium in Little Cypress Friday night, September 25th, 2015 - photo ... more

Silsbee eager to see progress against Hargrave

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Five weeks into the season and opposing defenses' are still trying to come up with ways to stop Silsbee's dual-threat quarterback Dontre Thomas.

Regardless of what's been tried, Thomas has continued to shine.

Thomas, a senior, has rushed for 525 yards and 13 touchdowns on 85 carries, while passing for more than 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns.

Thomas' prowess in the pocket has been instrumental in the Tigers 4-1 start which includes a district victory over Little Cypress-Mauriceville last week.

"Growing up I played running back as a kid and that gave me that vision to see open holes," Thomas said. "It was just natural for me to run when I moved to the quarterback position."

However, Thomas also credits his offensive line that includes 6-foot-5, 320-pound Patrick Hudson for allowing him time to make plays he's made thus far.

"I feel like the offensive line has carried us the whole way," Thomas said. "I know when I have to make a play that they have my back, always. All the credit goes to them."

"It's been great (blocking for him)," said Hudson, a verbal commit to Baylor University. "He's a good guy and he can do everything. It makes my job easier and it allows me to do what I have to do to block for him and win the game."

Silsbee's offense is averaging 41 points a game, but today's homecoming matchup against Huffman-Hargrave (2-2), a team that defeated Silsbee by 27 points a year ago, should be a true measuring stick of the Tigers' improvement.

"Last year we couldn't keep up with their scoring, but we are better on offense and defense this year," Thomas said. "We are putting up big numbers because we are executing and there is a lot of trust. We got the chemistry part down."

The Falcons have shown they can put up big numbers with 61 and 56 point performances in wins over Kashmere and Wheatley.

"I have to try and control the tempo of this game and try to be a leader on the field," Thomas said. "We lost at homecoming last year and we don't plan for that to happen again."